कसो आसा?
koso asa?
In Konkani, "how are you?" is said as कसो आसा? (koso asa?)
This phrase is a common greeting used to ask someone about their current well-being or health.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of कसो (koso), meaning "how" and आसा (asa), meaning "is/are" in the singular masculine form.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine form कसो आसा? changes to the feminine form कशी आसा? (kashi asa?) when addressing a woman.
How do you pronounce it?
koso asa?
Did you know?
- While कसो आसा? is the literal way to ask 'how are you', many Konkani speakers in Goa greet others by asking if they have eaten or if their meal was good.
- If you are addressing an elder or someone you wish to show great respect to, you would not use कसो आसा?, but instead use the plural/honorific form कसे आसात? (kase asat?).
- Konkani is an Indo-Aryan language, meaning the root of कसो (koso) is an ancient relative of the English word 'how' through their shared distant ancestor in Proto-Indo-European.
Examples in context
- तू कसो आसा?tu kaso asa?How are you?
- अमित, कसो आसा?amit, kaso asa?Amit, how are you?
Example conversation
Amit and Nisha meet unexpectedly at a market.
- निशा Nishaअमित, तूं कसो आसा?Amit, tūṁ kaso āsā?Amit, how are you?
- अमित Amitहांव बरो आसां, निशा.hāṁv barō āsāṁ, Nishā.I am fine, Nisha.
- निशा Nishaतुजे घरचे कसे आसात?tujē gharcē kasē āsāt?How are your family members?
- अमित Amitसगळे बरे आसात.sagḷē barē āsāt.Everyone is doing well.
